Smit, J. D.Le Roux, P. C.Esterhuysen, Wilandi2018-01-112018-01-112008-10http://hdl.handle.net/11660/7574English: The importance of workplace environmental conditions in improving and sustaining the productivity of end-users in offices was recognised. Developments in offices to support diversity in work style and work processes in offices have become a field of study in more advanced countries in Europe and Japan. This lead to the investigation of the standards of offices in South Africa, a fast developing country. The workspace influenced the level of success brought by the individual to the company. Facility managers realised the importance of end-user optimum productivity and the influence of end-user satisfaction in a competitive marked worldwide. What are the standards of South African offices, and what are the guidelines used to plan the ideal workspace? A study of the methods of the developed countries like Japan’s New Office Promotion Association (NOPA), and the Netherlands’ Centre for People and Buildings (CfPB) was used as a case study to provide guidelines as to what is important when planning a workspace, to end in the optimal physical resource. A comparison of these standards with the National Building Regulations (NBR) and its companion, the South African National Standards (SANS 10400), lead to the conclusion that the regulations set to plan offices was underdeveloped and therefore opened a field of research to develop a set of proposed guidelines. The standards of NOPA and CfPB were compared with the available standards from SANS 10400 and NBR to create a document with recommended minimum standards for workplace environments in South Africa. By using these recommended minimum standards as an evaluation instrument, a nationwide company, Telkom, was approached for participation on the bases of case study research to determine the quality of office environments in South Africa compared to the set standards concluded from other countries. The company was evaluated by using the Post Occupation Evaluation (POE) method introduced by Wolfgang Preiser (Preiser,1988:4). Performance evaluative research in workplace environments is a form of evidence-based research which aims to assess the functionality and serviceability levels of a specific facility on the basis of its ability to support and facilitate diverse work styles, as well as the user-needs and -requirements associated with it. The evaluation process was conducted according to the principles of an investigative-level Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) study, and aimed to assess the impact of stimuli from the workplace environment on the ability of users to optimally perform and accomplish work-related tasks. Conclusions drawn from this study indicated that users realise the impact that the overall work environment has on their ability to work productively. In this regard problems related to limited or inconvenient access to office resources, and problems related to poor thermal comfort (specifically with regards to the penetration of direct sunlight and lack of control over air-conditioning) occurred with a similar frequency. The results from this study were compared to the current regulatory standards in an attempt to create updated minimum standards. Since workplace environmental performance evaluation is still a new approach to the study of the built environment in South Africa, it is expected that data obtained through this study will contribute towards the founding of a database on workplace office environment standards in South Africa. By building up a database of this nature, it would be possible to enable comparative evaluations with international examples from researchers participating in cross-cultural evaluations of workplace environments as part of research initiatives. Most importantly, data and results generated by this study will enable valuable feedback to participants in the study in terms of facility performance, employee satisfaction, and factors that inhibit/enhance productivity.Afrikaans: Sedert die belangrikheid van werksplek-omgewingstoestande in die verbetering en volhoubaarheid van produktiwiteit van eindgebruikers in kantore opgemerk is, het beplanning ter ondersteuning van diverse werkstyle en werksprosesse, as ‘n studieveld, in meer ontwikkelde lande soos Europa en Japan uitgebrei. Hierdie gewaarwording het tot die ondersoek na beskikbare standaarde vir kantore in Suid Afrika, ‘n land wat vinnig ontwikkel, gelei. Die werksplek-omgewing beïnvloed die mate van sukses wat deur die individu na die maatskappy gebring word. Fasiliteitsbestuurders het ook bewus geraak van die belangrikheid van die eindgebruiker se optimale produktiwiteit,en die invloed wat die eindgebruker se tevredenheid in die kompeterende mark wêreldwyd het. Wat is die standaarde vir Suid-Afrikaanse kantore, en wat is die riglyne vir die beplanning van die ideale werksplek? ‘n Studie van die metodes van ontwikkelde lande soos Japan (Japan’s New Office Promotion Association, NOPA), en die Nederlandse “Centre for People and Buildings” (CfPB) is gebruik as presedente om die riglyne te bepaal van wat belangrik is in die beplanning van ‘n werksplek sodat dit as ‘n optimale fisiese hulpbron kan dien. ‘n Vergelyking hiervan met die Nasionale Bouregulasies (NBR) en die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Standaarde (SANS 10400) het uitgewys dat die bestaande regulasies vir die beplanning van kantore onvoldoende is en dat die veld dus braak lê vir navorsing om ‘n stel riglyne te ontwikkel. Die standaarde van NOPA en CfPB is vergelyk en daarna vervleg met die beskikbare standaarde vanaf die SANS 10400 en die NBR om ‘n document met voorgestelde minimum standaarde vir werksplek-omgewings in Suid-Afrika op te stel. Deur hierdie voorgestelde minimum standaarde as ‘n evaluasie-instrument te gebruik, is ‘n nasionale maatskappy, Telkom, genader om te deel in die basis van presedentstudies om die kwaliteit van kantooromgewings in Suid-Afrika te bepaal, in vergelyking met die daargestelde standaarde van die ander lande. Die maatskapy is geëvalueer deur middel van die Post-Okkupasie Evaluasiemetode soos bekendgestel deur Wolfgang Preiser. “Performance evaluative research” in die werksplek-omgewing is ‘n vorm van bewysgebaseerde navorsing wat poog om die funksionaliteit en diensbaarheidsvlakke van ‘n spesifieke fasiliteit te assesseer, gegrond op sy vermoë om diverse werkstyle en die meedaande gebruikersbenodighede en vereistes te ondersteun. Die evaluasieproses is uitgevoer volgens die riglyne van ‘n ondersoekende vlak Post-Okkupasie Evaluasie (POE) studie, en is daarop gemik om die invloed van die stumili vanaf die werksplek-omgewing op die vermoëns van die verbruikers om optimal te presteer en take te voltooi, te ondersoek. Gevolgtrekkings na aanleidng van die studie dui daarop dat eindgebruikers bewus is van die impak wat die werksomgewing op hul vermoë om produktief te funksioneer het. In die verband is probleme as gevolg van beperkte of ongemaklike toegang tot kantoor hulpbronne, en probleme as gevolg van swak gebouklimaat (spesifiek penetrasie van direkte sonlig en min tot geen beheer oor lugversorging) geïdentifiseer. Die uitslae van die studie is vergelyk met die huidige regulerende standaarde in ‘n poging om ‘n stel opgegradeerde minimum staandaarde te skep. Omdat werksplek-omgewingsprestasie-evaluasie steeds ‘n nuwe benadering tot die bestudering van die bouomgewing in Suid-Afrika is, word daar verwag dat die data van hierdie die studie sal bydra tot ‘n databasis vir werksplek-omgewingstandaarde in Suid-Afrika. Deur so ‘n databasis op te bou, word dit moontlik om vergelykende studies vanaf internasionale voorbeelde van navorsers wat deelneem aan kruis-kulturele evaluasies, uit te voer. Meer belangrik nog sal die data en uitslae van hierdie studie waardevolle terugvoer aan die deelnemers van die studie verskaf in terme van fasiliteitsprestasie, werknemertevredenheid, en faktore wat produktiwiteit inhibeer/bevorder.enBuilding Performance Evaluation (BPE)Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE)Facility Management (FM)Recommended minimum standardsFunctionalityServiceabilityProductivityWorkspacesOffice buildings -- DesignOffice layout -- PlanningWork environmentDissertation (M. Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2008DissertationUniversity of the Free State